I thought it would be an idea to give a brief update on why I’ve been so lax with blogging lately and what I’m up to at the moment:

With the Quiet Music Ensemble and the Music for Tipperary performances tied off I’m concentrating all my efforts on Music Network programmes (check out our spanking sparkly new website!) before jetting out to Melbourne in the new year!

Aisling Roche was appointed Acting CEO for a seven month period and I’ve taken on some aspects of the Development Programmes role. This includes taking care of Music Network’s Partner Promoters all over Ireland and also looking after some of the Audience Development work Music Network is always engaged in. We’re in the middle of the last tour of the season with amazing violinist Tasmin Little and she’s selling out all over the country. For those of you who didn’t hear her on the JK Ensemble last week, she’s a bright, incredibly intelligent solo violinist and is a vehement supporter of educational and development work. She’s doing a series of masterclasses and workshops along with the performance and has amazing energy. There are still tickets left to Music Network’s Gala Fundraiser next Sat (05 Dec) and I’ll be there with bells on so pop in and say hi! Tix from Music Network. Fidil and Trihornphone will also be there on the evening to entertain!

I’m also still primarily working on the Music Capital Scheme and with the panel discussions for the 2009 awards coming up this week watch this space for award announcements!! There was a healthy interest in the scheme again in 2009, which demonstrates the ongoing need for capital support for music in Ireland.

Another project I’m not directly involved in but will be speaking about at the Forum for Music annual plenary on Monday next is the Music Education Programme – aka the U2 Funds! U2 have come on board to support a programme Music Network have been developing for the last number of years. We are currently looking for applications for the position of Project Manager on the initiative and hope to roll out the tender process in early 2010. For more info on this call the office (01 6719429) and add your name to the mail out list!

Music Network are coordinating Ireland’s first dedicated day for music in 2010! lovelive:music takes place on Friday 16 April 2010 and will be a day of free music events all over Ireland. We’ve already taken calls from promoters, venues, centers, individual performers and groups all over the country eager to participate! The website is under development and I hope to be able to link to it shortly!

So, that’s it in a nutshell!

So No. 2 – Opportunities!

Just so y’all know, I’m heading on a little spin across the world in January. I’m Melbourne bound for a whole sunny month and am looking for any hints on what,who,where,where, who (did I already say that?) I should be visiting. Answers on a postcard to PO Box 22222222222222, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

The Association of Irish Choirs is looking for a new General Manager. It’s a three-year, fixed term contract in what are very hedgy times for jobs in the arts, and as such is an amazing opportunity for the right person based in Limerick. The deadline is next Tuesday 01 December.

InRes is a new resource by Create, which contains detailed information on local, regional, national and international opportunities for collaborative artists. Most of the opportunities are visual arts based but there are a number of opportunities for musicians and sound artists. Check out November opportunities.

The focus of the Seoul International Music Competition is “promoting cultural exchanges among nations through music and supporting talented musicians from all over the world”. The 2010 competition is based on vocal competition and the application deadline is 15 January 2010 and all the information is contained on the competition site.

RTÉ Lyric fm have released information on (deep breath) Diffusion Prize 2010: International Electroacoustic Music Composition Competition – a competition focused on “promoting ‘up and coming’ composers regardless of age or nationality”. A prize of €3000 will be awarded to the winning entrant in the form of a commission to compose a stereo electroacoustic work between 8-10mins in length. The deadline for entry is 22 January 2010.

The Forum for Music in Ireland holds its next plenary session on Tuesday 08 December in IMRO’s lovely new premises on Pembroke Row. The plenary is titled Grasping the Nettle and will address such questions as “What are the issues of greatest concern to musicians in Ireland?”. If you come along you’ll be treated to a presentation by Mé Féin on the U2/Music Network Music Education Scheme. I’ll be joined by Gerard Flanagan of Kylemore College who participated in the first pilot programme for the scheme.

The Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen Foundation is taking applications for it’s 2010 residence stipends at the moment. The deadline for applications is 15 January 2010 and the residency is open to artists working with “experimental music/musical compositions”. I’d actually love to be a practicing artists so I could go on these amazing residencies! Bah!

There is a whole lot going on at the moment so I’m going to throw together two quick posts:

No 1 – Gigs!

First things first – check out Music Network’s cracking new website! Swit swoo! We’re loving it!! There’s more to come too, watch this space for the lovelive:music (Ireland’s first ever national day celebrating music) website! There are a load of upcoming gigs with Tasmin Little on tour in Ireland at the moment. We’re gearing up towards our big Gala Fundraising concert on the 05 December in Dublin Castle. Tasmin will be performing works from her Naked Violin album and guests will also be entertained by Trihornophone and Fidil on the evening.

It seems there are a few events on the 05 December and Tasmin sells out you could always drop over to Ergodos Voices in the NCH. The new performing group, established by Ergodos consists of Peyee Chen, Marja Liisa Kay, Michelle O’Rourke and Robin Bier. The programme on the 5th includes works by Linda Buckley, Ben Schlepper-Connolly, Garrett Scholdice, Séan Clancy and Judith Ring.

The next Kaleidoscope takes place on Tues 01 December and will feature performances by Ergodos Voices (in case you can’t make the 5th, catch them here!), Redmond O’Toole and Yurodny. New Sound Worlds, the programme curated by composer Siobhán Cleary, takes place the same evening in the NCH so I’ll be running between the two gigs, trying to catch a bit of both!

Other performance bits

There is an amazing new group doing the rounds – they’re called Traz, they’re based in Sligo, their sound is the most fresh thing you heard on the radio in ages and…. they’re all still in school! Check out their facebook page here and they featured last week on Donal Dineen’s Fresh Air Festival. You heard it here first people, they’re gonna be big, if only because I won’t stop talking about them until everyone has heard their music!

I have a load of emails in my inbox with the subject line “Blog this”, which are meant to remind me to follow up on something or other. I don’t always get around to blogging the notes I sent, but here are the few in my inbox at the moment:

Notes:

Creative Review blog cover an interesting project by Youth Music in the UK to celebrate their 10th year. I was doing a little research into international musical instrument projects last year for the Music Capital Scheme and came across Youth Music. They instigate some very worthwhile projects in the UK and are worth checking out.

On that note, the deadline for the Music Capital Scheme landed on Monday last and my office in the coach house is once again the most flammable room in the building with piles of applications in boxes and on my desk. Watch the Music Network website for announcements of awards in December.

Jennifer Walshe continues to stir things up in the US – read the brow-wrinkling description of her latest project Ma La Pert in Issue Project Room

NorthWest Connects is a networking event coming up on Sat 28 Nov in Sligo which promises to bring together local creativity and regional networks. I’d love to be attending – it looks like a promising hub for creative entrepreneurs and businesses in the North West area. The attendee list is already the Who’s Who of the most innovative people working in the North West, and indeed in Ireland as a whole and the most amazing part is it’s free! Twitter

Gigs:

Music Network are in the middle of another tour at the moment – Songs for Cecelia is stopping at a venue near you over the next week or so. The Dublin takes place in the Coach House this coming Tuesday although I’m pretty sure there are very few tickets left.

I like that the emails bulletins from Note Productions are titled “a little note”. The latest one contains details of an upcoming performance by Iarla Ó Lionáird in preferred Note venue, St Audeons Church. The Dublin concert features a guest performance by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and should be a lovely gig!

Apparently Tuesday nights are the nights of choice for contemporary music in Dublin. I attended the second of the Kaleidoscope series in the Odessa Club on Tuesday last, which featured performances by Malachy Robinson, Clíodhna Ryan, Kate Ellis, Cora Venus Lunny, Martin Tourish & Lorcán Mac Mathuna and an improv by Enda Bates & Linda Buckley. Tourish’s Exegesis left a lasting impression and I’d like to hear the work again when I’m not falling down with exhaustion after a mental day.

Starting this coming Tuesday, New Sound Worlds is a programme curated by Siobhán Cleary, taking place in the NCH each Tues for four weeks. There is no websites for the series but information on tickets is available from the NCH site. Word on the ground is that people will be giving their right arm to attend the first performance by Sarah Leonard and Rolf Hind on Tues. I’ll be putting my hand in at the Coach House so won’t make the first performance but it should be excellent.

On one last note, I promised a quick mention to a new night starting in Dublin- SALT is a new gay music night in Twisted Pepper, every second Wed. The organisers are billing it as a new night targeted at young gay people who are not comfortable with the gay scene as it exists and could well be a fun night!

The QME performance on Saturday night last was a beautiful exploration of improvised and experimental electro-acoustic music. I’ll write a longer post on the event once I get the pics.

A project initiated by artist Mark Garry went online on MySpace today, it’s worth checking out if you get a chance. Sending Letters to the Sea is a music project that brings together musicians Ireland and France that work across genres. It includes contributions from Karl Him, Nina Hynes, Sean Carpio and Fabien Leseure.

On Friday (06 Nov) in Cork UCC Concert Series presents an improv session with Han-Earl Park and Paul Dunmall. It’s a lunchtime event so if you’re around Cork at lunch drop over to O’Riada Hall in UCC.

Jonathan Grimes uploaded a video of Roger Doyle’s 60th birthday concert to his blog – check it out

CMC are hosting open nights for student composers (Tues 04 Nov) and student music teachers (Mon 09 Nov) – details here

Donal Dineen’s Small Hours presents Fresh Air Festival – a  celebration of his picks of new music. It’s airing on Today during Dineen’s 12 midnight to 2am slot and will include artists such as 3epkano, chequerboard, dark room notes, Katie Kim, R.S.A.G and a load of others. I’m going to try catch the first show tonight although am pretty wrecked after the weekend so we’ll see if I make it through the whole show.

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ArtCamp is a new initiative along the same lines as BarCamp for artists and arts workers. There is no info up yet but keep an eye on the site for updates.

Take your Seat initiative runs from 09 – 14 November, promoting arts and performance. The initiative aims to demonstrate that attending events is not just about box office takings but is about supporting the performers -the people who dedicate themselves to standing/sitting in front of the audience on an ongoing basis. As someone who always found it painful to stand up in front of anyone and perform, I wholeheartedly support the initiative – get out there and put bums on seats!

The National Campaign for the Arts is growing in numbers. If you haven’t already become a member please join up and show your support – many of us are connected with the arts, either directly and indirectly. Any cuts to public support for the arts will have a detrimental effect on the lives of many people I know. Use your vote and your voice. They also have a petition on the website, which includes the retention of Culture Ireland, The Film Board and artists exemption.

I’ve missed a load of gigs I wanted to flag because I’m up the walls in prep for the QME gig in DEAF09 this weekend. The QME are performing on the last day of the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival and we’re in the middle of rehearsals at the moment. They’re going really well and after listening to them rehearse Alvin Lucier’s Shadow Lines yesterday I’m really excited about Saturday evening. The performance lasts from 5pm -10pm; drop in at any stage during the evening, there is no obligation to stay for the full 5 hours. The tickets for that gig are on sale at www.tickets.ie from a very reasonable €15/10!

I was very sorry to hear today that this year’s DEAF is going to be the last festival. Organisers Eamonn Doyle and Karen Walsh are gearing up for a big blow-out party on Saturday night to give the festival the send-off it deserves. After eight years running DEAF both Karen and Eamonn have other projects they want to start. It’s a shame that a festival as great as DEAF will come to an end as the organisers move on, but this is the case in a small country such as Ireland where great events are dependent on a few key individuals.

Also – something sweet and non-music related: Temple Bar Chocolate Festival is this weekend!! Yum!

I’m not sure if he’s still doing it but Damien Mulley was putting together a list of interested bloggers to go on the mail out lists of PR company mailouts.

When I originally made the note to blog about the new Tom Waits album you could listen to it for free online. I did. It’s great. Sorry…….

Global Irish Economic Forum Report from the Dept of Education

I finally had a chance to have a look through the DEAF programme and these are my picks over the ten days (watch for the plugging!). After I completed the list I realised there is no way I’ll actually get to all these gigs, especially as some of them overlap but if I could bi-locate this is what I would check out

Ongoing:

ATOM: Meditations on the disappearance of the independent record shop, Projector Collective @ Filmbase

Donal Dineen: Mix media installation @ Filmbase

RELAY: Online sound project, Presented by The Model @ Filmbase

Thurs 22 Oct

Messages Sonores: Peter Maybury @ Road Records, 11am – 6pm

Beautiful Unit: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Fri 23 Oct (AKA Spatial Music Collective day!)

Spatial Music Collective: Workshops @ NCH, 2-5pm

Spatial Music Collective: Alvin Lucier’s I am sitting in a room @ NCH, 6.30pm

Spatial Music Collective: 8.5 @ NCH, 8pm

Baby Beef: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Dam Funk (actually I’ll be going just for DJ Kormac): @ Twisted Pepper, 11pm

Sat 24 Oct

Somadrome: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Sun 25 Oct

Roger Doyle: Crash Ensemble @ Project Arts Centre, 7.30pm

Sunday Roast: @ Globe Bar, 8pm

Mon 26 Oct

Yurodny: Presented by Diatribe Recordings @ Button Factory, 7pm

Thurs 29 Oct

Relay Launch: Polly Fibre performance & talk from curator John Lambert @ Filmbase, 6pm

My Heart is in the East: An evening of Sephardic and Persian music @ Smock Alley, 8pm (I caught a similar programme in the Samuel Beckett a few months ago and it was a beautiful performance – check out my post on it here)

Sat 31 Oct

night leaves breathing: Quiet Music Ensemble @ Filmbase, 5-10.30pmpm (plug!!!!)

A Gallimaufry: Mountains @ Douglas Hyde, 2-10pm

*New Spaces for Music details correct at time of posting but are subject to change so keep an eye on DEAF twitter!

Upcoming events

(Plug Alert!) On 31 October in Filmbase the Quiet Music Ensemble (QME) present night leaves breathing; their first performance since the launch of the ensemble in July 2008. Prepare yourself for a 5-hour extravaganza of experimental music, sonic environments, uncommon Dreamhouse and drone music as the QME brings DEAF09 to a close. The QME website is under development at the moment so there are a few bugs but there is gig info here and tickets here. The QME will be joined by musician, curator and writer David Toop for an improvisation and the event will conclude with a performance of his work for the QME night leaves breathing.  MySpace & facebook

Kaleidoscope is a new music series curated by musicians Kate Ellis and Clíodhna Ryan. I missed the first night at the beginning of October but will definitely be heading along to the next one on 03 Nov in the Odessa Club. For those of you interested in eclectic performance across all areas of classical music this is definitely one for you.

Ergodos present Smyth/Marshall/Sanders this Wed coming (14 Oct) in the NCH. Info on the gig here and tickets from the NCH website.

Stet Lab in Cork kick off their 2009/2010 series this evening in The Roundy, Castle St. With performance titles such as Folk from Hell and Tuba and Laptop Shenanigans you can be sure this is going to be a very interesting evening of experimental music!

Reviews in brief

Jaki Irvine’s new work Seven Folds in Time is showing now in Temple Bar Gallery & Studios and will continue until 31 October. The piece explores the relationship between music and image and plays on the space that exists around practice and anticipation of performance. I find it resonates specifically with the performer in me, however the positioning of the monitors and the extreme close-up shots of the performers allow viewers with no performance history to enter that space and experience the concentrated state of trance when preparing for some future performance.

I made the trip to Louth on 01 October to experience the unique sounds of the Hilliard Ensemble at their best. Performing their Arhkangelos programme, the ensemble brought the audience on a tour of sacred music across Europe, traversing West to East. I could easily write a long review of the performance but time limits only allow me to link to the review by Philip Hammond. If I miraculously find time in the next few weeks I’ll detail my experience.

Culture notes

The deadline for Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme is less than a month away at this stage. Get your applications in to me before 02 November. More information on the award here, email me on capitalscheme@musicnetwork.ie or call 01 671 9429.

The Journal of Music is unlocking articles for a day at a time – today’s article is an interview with pianist Paul G. Smyth by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly.

There is a forum for experimental music meet-up’s online and the site has a Dublin-based group. At the moment it seems like a space for new arrivals in Ireland to make friends, regardless of their musical leanings, but has the potential to become a good networking site for new music. Keep an eye on it…

Artist Seth Kim-Cohen is writing a twitter novel… Also, check out his recently published book In the Blink of an Ear: Towards a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art. I haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet but when I do I’ll give it a short review. I’m in the middle of Alex Ross’ The Rest is Noise, which is an unbeatable guide to twentieth-century music. It’s information heavy but conjures a visual map to the significant events, works and artists of the twentieth-century.  Again, when I get through it I’ll write a few notes on it.

Modest Mouse (I love the giant fly on his site) is coming to Ireland! Whee!

You facebook people – join my Music Capital Scheme group and get loads of info on capital support for instruments in Ireland!

Michelle Browne’s Mind the Gap project is continuing as a part of the Fringe Festival. I caught the Fare Play trip last weekend and took a taxi spin around Dublin with the epitome of a Dublin taxi driver giving me a guide to the buildings and follies that form a part of the Nama fiasco. The driver was pro-Nama and had a load of convincing points to make (e.g. Manchester, a city with a larger population and annual financial turnover than the whole of Ireland, has FOUR MP’s and a handful of counsellors, who keep the city ticking over without any major disasters while we need a couple of hunderd TD’s and a couple of thousand counsellors…) but I’m still not convinced and believe the government is working very hard to bail out it’s boys club.

I also caught Die Roten Punkte at the Bosco Tent on Saturday night. It was an awful lot of fun and had the audience doubled over with laughter as Otto and Astrid brought us on a hilarious and occasionally cringe-worthy adventure that is their music career. For a small duo with teeny instruments to have an entire tent stand up and make hand gestures at will is no mean feat in audience engagement! Myself and my mates hung around for the evening and danced the night away with live music and a DJ to follow – a great fringe evening!

Just for kicks “oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy“

CMC’s plans for Culture Night unveiled – technophiles take note!

Justin Carroll’s group Togetherness perform in The Back Loft on Sat 19 Sept. I’m not in Dublin that weekend but it should be a great gig with Sean Carpio on drums, Dave Redmond on bass and Hughes Mayot on sax.

size2shoes are going from strength to strength and about just launched a “mini-website”, The Vault, featuring tracks, interviews, free downloads and loads more. I really like these guys after seeing them support Julie Feeney in Crawdaddy for her album launch. They’re gas lads, check it out – you might even learn a bit of beatboxing from Moley…

I joined artists network called Art Review but am still trying to figure out how it’s going to benefit me… More on this as soon as I figure it out…

Unique performer Dave Flynn is featured on two new releases – his own CD of contemporary traditional Irish guitar available for purchase here, and his guitar music also features in a publication called Contemporary Anthology of Solo Guitar for Five Fingers of the Right Hand. I haven’t had a chance yet to listen to the CD yet but if Flynn’s live performances are anything to go by it should be an excellent listen.

On Thur 27 Sept The Clonmel Junction Festival presents Dulsori in Chadwicks. “Their energetic, elemental performances are raw and passionate affairs as the world’s most enthralling drumming troupes. Dulsori never fail to thrill and excite.” – sounds like great craic and it’s very reasonably priced at €15 for adults and €5 for children. Call Premier Music on 052 6129811 for tickets!